India praised for its climate change initiatives

WASHINGTON: Praising India's climate change initiatives in the run-up to the Paris summit, an eminent American expert has said the implementation of renewable energy targets has the potential to "drastically shift" global markets.

"The implementation of the renewable energy targets set as a part of the Paris Agreement by countries like India and China has the potential to drastically shift global markets," Andrew Steer, president and CEO of World Resources Institute, said during a Congressional hearing.

The ambitious goals set by PM Narendra Modi on solar energy is driven by economic development of the country, Steer told members of Committee on House Science, Space and Technology during a hearing on Paris Summit on Climate Change.

"China invested twice as much in solar capacity in 2015 as the United States, and is on track to become a superpower of the low-carbon economy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi increased India's solar power capacity goal for 2030 from 20 GW to 175 GW," Steer said.

For comparison, the US has only about 25 gigawatts of solar capacity, he told the lawmakers.

"Prime Minister Modi didn't make this decision because he's a member of Greenpeace. He did it because it makes the most sense for India's economic development," Steer said.

At the same time as investment in renewables is surging, demand for high-polluting fuels such as coal is stalling globally and even declining in fast-growing economies like India, where imports dropped by 34 per cent in 2015, he said.

India's decision to increase its renewable electrical capacity to 40 per cent of total installed electrical capacity by 2030, builds on PM Modi's earlier commitment to increase solar power to 100 gigawatts by 2022 -- 30 times the current level and five times above the previous renewable energy target, he added.

This renewable energy target will require aggressive domestic action, as it significantly exceeds current policy scenario projections notable, given India's per capita emissions are only one-third of the global average, he said.

"India is continuing to rapidly decrease the cost of solar, with a further seven per cent reduction in tariffs this year. The total installed cost for solar in India dropped by more than 20 per cent in 2015 alone," Steer said.

Testifying before the committee, Vice president of US Chamber of Commerce, Stephen Eule said that India, which is one of the world's biggest geeenhouse gas (GHG) emitters, has committed to reducing its GHG emissions intensity by 33 per cent to 35 per cent between 2005 and the 2030s, about one third of which was met by 2010.

"We estimate that if it meets this goal, its emissions will grow from about 3 billion TCO2 in 2010 to about 5 to 6 billion TCO2 in 2030 at jump of at least 80 per cent.

Importantly, India's INDC is conditional on financial and technology assistance that it estimates could run to USD 2.5 trillion out to 2050," Eule said.

In the meantime, he said, India announced that it intends to double domestic coal output over the next five years to fuel economic expansion.